"That is your amazing training method?" Rin asked skeptically, looking at a chess board in front of him. "It's one part of it. Are you disappointed because I won't just let you fight anything? Being an excellent tactician is even more important for a King than being the strongest." Mephisto explained to him while placing the chess pieces.

"If you say so," Rin frowned. "But I don't even know the rules!" The Prince whined. staring intently at the chess pieces expertly placed in front of him.

"That's why I'll explain them to you, and you better listen to me because I'm not going to tell you this twice."

"You've got 8 pawns," The King of Time started explaining, pointing at the small figures in the front row, "and these are your 2 knights, 2 bishops, and 2 rooks," He explained further.

"What about the two in the middle?" Rin asked, yawning. He had never liked theoretical lessons.

"That's the Queen and that's the most important piece in the game, the King. When your King is unable to make a move you lost."

After another few explanations, the game started. At first, Rin didn't pay attention and he lost the first match.
"How long do we have to do this? I don't think that I'm going to learn something from that." Rin asked after the third match, stretching himself and taking a more comfortable sitting position.
"Quit complaining. We play chess until you understand what I want to teach you." Mephisto answered.
A few hours later, the sun was rising and Rin finally started caring about the game. Mostly because he wanted this training to end. He had never been that bored in his life.

"Wait a second. When I put my horse," Rin began.

"It's called a knight but go on," Mephisto interrupted him, interested in the Prince's next move.

"Okay okay. When I put my knight here," He continued his train of thought, "I got you! Checkmate!"

Proudly, he crossed his arms, leaning back. Mephisto started to laugh.

"You will have to learn so much, Rin" The King of Time picked up his King chess piece and just put it somewhere else. After that, he placed his other pieces around Rin's King.

"Checkmate, little brother."

"What are you doing? That's against the rules. You can't just put everything where you want!" Rin complained outraged.

"My first advice," Mephisto held up a finger, "A King doesn't follow the rules, he makes his own."

"Are you kidding me? You just didn't want to lose!"

"In a real battle, nobody follows the rules." Mephisto lectured his younger brother.

"I guess that's right but this is not a real battle. You're just a cheater that didn't want to lose" Rin growled.

"Oh please, do you think you were so close to winning because you're such a good chess player? I let you come this far so I could teach you a lesson." Mephisto laughed.

"I knew your training would be stupid. I want to fight! That's a far better training!" The Prince shouted, allowing his features become more demonic as if preparing for battle

The King of Time shook his head. He didn't understand how Rin could be that stubborn. When he first met the Prince, he had been polite, calm, and not as annoying as he was now. Mephisto assumed that the change had something to do with the fact that he left Gehenna. He thought about it for a second and resolved to prove his assumption.

"Fine, I'll find you a sparring partner, but you would draw too much attention to yourself in Assiah. If you want to train so bad we have to go back to Gehenna." The King of Time suggested.

"Finally, you're saying something reasonable! Let's go and I can show you that I don't need these stupid chess lessons!"

Only a few minutes later, Rin and Mephisto stepped out of the Gehenna Gate, standing in the middle of the courtyard of Satan's Castle.

"Okay, where is Amaimon?" The Prince was ready to leave Mephisto, searching the Earth King to get his revenge.

"You're not just wandering around the castle without greeting Father first, aren't you?" Mephisto stopped his younger brother.

"What? No, of course not." Rin tried to cover up his oblivion. Now, he was visibly nervous about seeing Satan again because he hadn't improved much since they had last seen each other.

Slowly, he followed Mephisto to the throne room, hesitating before entering.

"You've returned sooner than I had expected, Samael. Did you give up yet?" Satan greeted his second born son, not acknowledging Rin's presence.

"On the contrary, Father." Mephisto bowed slightly, "Coming back is part of the training."

Rin stood next to King Samuel, not daring to say a word in front of his father, the almighty Satan.

"A result of this training seems to be that my heir is forgetting his manners." Satan glared at the Prince, sending a chill down his spine.

Instantly, Rin noticed his mistake and kneeled down.

"I'm sorry, Father. I didn't mean to disrespect you." He apologized immediately. The sudden change of attitude was actually surprising for the King of Time.

"I certainly hope so. What are you teaching him, Samael? Is it important enough to apologize for this lack of formalities?" Satan asked with a mixture of disappointment and anger.

The King of Time smiled at his father, "I can't explain it. He is usually so well behaved. Isn't that right, Rin?"

Normally, he would have snapped back at him but he didn't dare to insult Mephisto in front of Satan.

The Prince just stared at the floor. He didn't understand how Mephisto could talk so blithely to Satan. If Rin talked to his father like that it would be taken as a sign of disrespect.

"So, what exactly are you teaching him, Samael?" The Demonic God broached the subject again.

"Today, I showed him a few battle tactics," Mephisto explained. Rin had to admit that it sounded better than just saying that they played chess.

"Today? It has been weeks since you left Gehenna. What did you do in that time?" Satan was skeptical.

"Well, we didn't do nothing. I thought that it would be good if he learned something about diplomacy" The King of Time lied, covering up that they started Rin's training only a few hours ago.

"Diplomacy?" Satan obviously didn't believe his son but he let it slide for now, "Is that true, Rin?"

The Prince didn't know what to do. Should he tell the truth, admitting that he didn't have training in a while? Maybe he would be assigned to one another one of his brothers. Even though Rin was often annoyed by Mephisto, he was actually grateful that he could stay in Assiah. He never lied to his father but he wanted to stay in the human world.

"Yes, it's true." Rin answered quickly.

Satan just nodded, riveting again on Mephisto, "Why did you come back?"

"Rin asked for combat training. In Assiah, the blue flames would attract too much attention. I thought that Amaimon or Beelzebub would be great opponents since they are the youngest Baal." While speaking, Mephisto made his way towards the exit but was stopped by Satan.

"You're suggesting a sparring between Rin and one of the Baal. It has been a while since I was entertained by something like that. I'm going to watch so I can see what my heir has learned in his time in Assiah." The Demonic God rose from his throne.

"You're going to watch?" Rin was surprised. His father had never been present in Rin's training sessions. He was nervous but he also wanted to use this chance to prove himself.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Satan growled.

"No, of course not." The Prince said apologizing, looking up to the 7-foot tall ruler of Gehenna.

Satan nodded shortly before heading for the courtyard.

"It would be a shame if you couldn't defeat your opponent while Father is watching you. You should challenge Beelzebub. Unlike Amaimon, the King of Insects has never been much of a fighter. This is a great opportunity to give you my second advice," Mephisto started as soon as Satan had left the room, holding up two fingers, "Choose your opponent wisely. Don't pick an unnecessary hard fight if you have an alternative."

"Forget it. I want to fight Amaimon!" Rin insisted, clenching his fists.

The King of Time sighed, "I knew you would say that. Fine, fight Amaimon and risk to lose in front of Father. I'll wait outside while you're looking for Amaimon."

"Wait! How am I supposed to find him?" The Prince asked quickly before Mephisto was leaving him alone.

"You've been living here for 16 years and you don't know where you can find one of your brothers? Okay okay, I'm going to bring him here." Mephisto shook his head and disappeared with a quiet Poof.

A little later, Rin stood next to his father in awkward silence, waiting for Mephisto to return with Amaimon. The Prince thought back to the time when he told Yukio that he could change Satan's mind about conquering the human realm. He hesitated but then he decided that it would be worth a try.

"Father? I wa-" Rin started but the Demon God interrupted him.

"They're back. I hope you know that I expect you to win." Satan stated before sitting down on a small throne a few servants had just brought to him. A second later, Mephisto reappeared with Amaimon next to him.

"Yes, Father." Rin said, disappointed that he wouldn't listen to him.

"So you want to train with me, little brother?" Amaimon stepped in. His look was not quite as deadpanned as usual and he had something mocking about him.

The Prince decided to leave his disappointment behind and focus on his opponent.

"Why are you asking? Scared to lose?" Rin grinned, gaining a bit courage before the fight.

Both of them went to the middle of the courtyard, facing each other directly.

"We both know what happened last time we played." Amaimon said, cracking his fingers.

Rin didn't reply to his older brother and just reached out for his dagger.

"You better put that dagger back in your belt. You're not allowed to use any weapons and this fight goes until one of you passes out or forfeits." Mephisto intervened, sitting down on his own white and pink armchair.

Even though it put Rin at a disadvantage, he sheathed his dagger. The Prince usually fought with a weapon while Amaimon almost never used one.

With a simple hand sign, Satan gave his sons the permission to start.

Before Rin could do anything, Amaimon had already pinned him down to the ground.

"That was boring. At least try to fight back." The King of Earth yawned, thinking Rin would give up.

Rin quickly glanced over at his father who looked more than disappointed over his fast defeat.

"It's not over yet, Amaimon!" The Prince shouted, creating an explosion of blue flames.

The sudden burst of flames even reached the two spectators. Mephisto just opened his umbrella to protect himself. He looked at Satan who, to Mephisto's surprise, had to shield himself too with his own flames.

Rin managed to stand up after Amaimon had to dodge the blue fire. He knew that he somehow had to overcome the difference in age and experience between himself and his older brother but he needed more time to figure out how.

After exchanging some punches, the Prince had to focus on dodging Amaimon's attacks more than striking himself. Unfortunately, he started to get tired and had to take a hard punch to his stomach. Amaimon's claws didn't really help the situation, forcing Rin to retreat.

While applying pressure to his would, he realized he could only defeat Amaimon in one way.

Once again, the King of Earth brought Rin down, holding him with one of his knees on the ground.

"Just give up. It's getting rather sad than amusing." Amaimon noted.

"If I should lose this fight, it won't be because I surrender!" Rin growled, trying to provoke his older brother.

"Well, then I guess I have to let my baby brother take a little nap." The King of Earth was about to close in for the final blow, neglecting to watch Rin carefully.

Suddenly, a sharp pain emerged right above the knee he was holding Rin down with.

The Prince had rammed his dagger into the Earth King's leg, now pulling it out, using Amaimon's confusion to pin him down. He placed the blade on Amaimon's throat.

"Okay, okay, I give up." Amaimon forfeited the battle.

Rin let him go and even helped his brother to come back to his feet.

"So, you've won by cheating." Satan stated.

Rin took a deep breath before telling his father what Mephisto had taught him.

"A King doesn't follow the rules, he makes his own."

Satan closed his eyes, probably thinking about something. Then he just rose from his throne and made his way back inside his castle.

Rin's mood dropped. Was his father disappointed? Did he do something wrong? Wasn't he supposed to break the rules after all?

"Why are you looking so sad? You won! It was a bit unfair but you won!" Amaimon didn't understand at all what was going on.

The Prince opened his mouth to answer when Mephisto walked up to them.

"Normally, I would ignore dumb comments from Amaimon-"

"Hey!"

"- but he is right this time. There is no reason to be depressed." The King of Time stated.

"But Father didn't say anything. I disappointed him. Only because I followed that stupid advice of yours." Rin was frustrated.

"You did anything but disappoint him. I usually wouldn't tell you that but I guess I have to prove that my advice isn't stupid. Let me just say one thing. I have never seen Father having to protect himself from an attack until he was confronted with your flames. Herzlichen Glückwunsch [Congratulations]! You are the first demon that is probably able to hurt Satan himself." Mephisto explained.

"But why didn't he say anything?" The Prince wasn't really believing what the King of Time told him.

"Father would never admit something like that. He is as stubborn as you are." Mephisto's words lightened up Rin's mood.

"We should return to Assiah now. I think you've trained enough for today." He determined, opening the portal back to the human realm.

"Wait! Last time, you promised to bring me some candy." Amaimon stopped them, holding out a hand.

"Right. I almost forgot. Wait a second." Mephisto disappeared in the portal for a second before he returned with two bags full of candy.

"What? No! That's mine. I bought that!" Rin complained, recognizing the bags from his last visit in True Cross Town.

"You bought it with my money so it technically belongs to me." The King of Time handed the candy to Amaimon.

Rin opened his mouth but didn't know how he could argue with that. Mumbling something about Mephisto being a jerk, the Prince stepped through the portal, leaving his brothers alone.

"You did actually let him win. I didn't know candy was that important to you." Mephisto looked at the King of Earth who was already eating his sweets.

"I didn't let him win. I would never lose on purpose to Rin. That would be lame." Amaimon simply stated, putting a bonbon in his mouth.

"I guess I underestimate our sweet baby brother. See you soon." With a small wave of his hand, Mephisto followed the Prince through the portal, closing it behind himself.

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